Anonymous gallery

Dweller · Feb 9, 2006

Without even knowing if *I* think this is a good idea or not I thought I would throw it out there to see what others think.

A critique gallery where people can post photos anonymously. I am leaning toward requiring people critiquing to use a real name to avoid thread crapping but the poster can be anonymous.

The benefit to this would be if someone wanted to try something new and wanted unbiased opinions on it, or if someone just did not feel ready to break out some of there work to be critiqued.

I think that there would be some interest in this format for some of the up and coming photographers on this board.

Perhaps a simple checkmark when starting a new thread "post anonymously" would do the trick.

Thoughts? Please feel free to critique honestly..

Sincerly,

John Doe

:mrgreen: :greenpbl:

danalec99 · Feb 9, 2006

This issue was discussed in this thread, in case you have'nt noticed.

Dweller · Feb 11, 2006

Had I noticed I would not have duplicated the thread. Thanks for the link.

Chase · Feb 11, 2006

Well, next time...notice dammit! :lol:

mrsid99 · Feb 15, 2006

You know dweller may still be onto something.
If there was a section that when you post in it it doesn't show who posted it then for those masochists who'd like a real shellacking that would be the place to post.
Just a thought.

mrsid99 · Feb 15, 2006

The more I think about it the more I think the anonymous poster section would be a neat idea.
All comments would be allowed (except for obscenities of course) and it's my belief that not knowing the identity of the poster would have a moderating influence on the comments, after all, they may live near you!
Anyone with the cajones to post in that section would likely have the smarts to pick out the useful comments from the trash anyway.
I'm definitely warming to the concept......good thinking Dweller!

mrsid99 · Feb 15, 2006

Just a little clarification, only the pic poster would be anonymous, the comments poster(s) would be clearly identified.

terri · Feb 15, 2006

mrsid99 said:
Just a little clarification, only the pic poster would be anonymous, the comments poster(s) would be clearly identified.

That appears to be the major difference in what was previously discussed - in that case the pic poster was identified but the commenting posters were anonymous. Clearly, that would never fly.

It could perhaps work the opposite way. Again, the need for anyone to feel like they have to hide behind their comments (or their photos) is a bit of a stumbling block, for the reasons that have already been presented.

mrsid99 · Feb 15, 2006

terri said:
It could perhaps work the opposite way. Again, the need for anyone to feel like they have to hide behind their comments (or their photos) is a bit of a stumbling block, for the reasons that have already been presented.

I don't agree with that statement, when the pic poster is anonymous it takes away the personal vendetta motive of commentators and allows the pic poster to hide their embarrassment if they post a real dog.

Dweller · Feb 15, 2006

mrsid99 said:
I don't agree with that statement, when the pic poster is anonymous it takes away the personal vendetta motive of commentators and allows the pic poster to hide their embarrassment if they post a real dog.

That was my idea as well mrsid99. I think that there is some value in being able to post a picture without having your name attached to it. Not only would it stop the personal vendetta comments but would also prevent "I think your hot so I will say this is the best shot EVER!!" kinds of comments.

Maybe I did not present the idea properly before but I hope this is something that could be considered.

Chase · Feb 15, 2006

Here is the issue. Although I think its a valid idea, implementing it can be a bit difficult. If we allowed anonymous posting, anyone could post, and that could cause some major issues.

A potential work around would be to have an account to send photos to where an admin or mod would have access and upload them under a specific account name.

Also, keep in mind that our current idea behind the critique area is centered around interaction between the photographer and the viewers. This would be lost in many cases using this approach.

mrsid99 · Feb 15, 2006

Chase said:
Here is the issue. Although I think its a valid idea, implementing it can be a bit difficult. If we allowed anonymous posting, anyone could post, and that could cause some major issues.

It is assumed that only valid forum members could post and the mods would know the posters identity. In other words it would be a normal post apart from the posters identity being hidden.

A potential work around would be to have an account to send photos to where an admin or mod would have access and upload them under a specific account name.

Obviously we leave the technical details to those who run TPF.

Also, keep in mind that our current idea behind the critique area is centered around interaction between the photographer and the viewers. This would be lost in many cases using this approach.

Granted this would mean the critique is "blind" but isn't that what was the reason for it in the first place?
It's not an interaction they're looking for, just completely open comments.
For the normal interaction etc. there would still be the present area.

markc · Feb 16, 2006

I'm not as familiar with vBulletin as I am with phpBB, but I think to do what you want to do, someone who knows vBulletin internals and PHP would have to code it in. That's usually not the simplest of tasks. It would take a lot of testing to make sure a security hole wasn't opened up. I think that's why Chase mentioned the dedicated account.

I'm not saying it's a good or bad idea, just that it would involve more than clicking a checkbox somewhere on the board settings.

Chase · Feb 16, 2006

markc said:
I'm not as familiar with vBulletin as I am with phpBB, but I think to do what you want to do, someone who knows vBulletin internals and PHP would have to code it in. That's usually not the simplest of tasks. It would take a lot of testing to make sure a security hole wasn't opened up. I think that's why Chase mentioned the dedicated account.

I'm not saying it's a good or bad idea, just that it would involve more than clicking a checkbox somewhere on the board settings.

That is correct. Additionally, when you modify the code like that, you also run the risk of problems whenever vbulletin updates are released. It can turn into a real pain in some cases.